What is the function of vitamin B6?
Vitamin B6 comprises three closely related molecules: pyridoxine, pyridoxal and pyridoxamine, and their corresponding phosphates. All three can be interconverted in the body. Pyndoxal phosphate is a coenzyme of several enzymes involved in amino acid metabolism, in reactions whose substrates contain nitrogen. Most of these reactions are called transaminations in which the transfer of amino acids occur. It also functions as a coenzyme in glycogenolysis, the breakdown of glycogen which is the storage form of carbohydrate in the body and it also plays a role in steroid hormone-induced protein synthesis. A deficiency due to the lack of B6 alone is rare, any deficiency is usually part of a deficiency of the B Complex vitamins. Alcoholics are more prone to deficiency as the metabolism of ethanol interferes with the Vitamin B6 coenzyme form.
